Tearsheet is a leading modern media publication, a daily must-read among influencers obsessed with the future of money.

Based in New York City, Tearsheet has deep experience identifying and analyzing existing and future trends, in its coverage of rising startups raising new capital to the digital moves of the largest players in finance and investing.

Tearsheet was launched as Tradestreaming in 2007 and has been an active participant in the rise of the global fintech industry. In 2016, it was acquired and relaunched by Digiday Media. In 2017, it was rebranded to Tearsheet.

Tearsheet Podcast: Exploring financial services together

Joe Heck, CEO of Zip, joins me on the Tearsheet Podcast to discuss the evolution of alternative payment solutions in the US. Zip is a leading Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) company. Joe shares lessons from his 20 years of experience in consumer lending and fintech payment solutions. Heck brings insights from his previous leadership roles at Happy Money and TrueStage.

Heck’s background plays a role in his approach to financial services. Growing up in Flint, Michigan, he understands the challenges of paycheck-to-paycheck living. “There’s a consumer base largely ignored by traditional financial systems,” Heck explains. “FICO doesn’t serve them well, but they have a great ability to pay.”

Zip focuses on providing financial flexibility to these consumers. It offers structured repayment plans that don’t push them into revolving debt. According to Heck, “We win when the consumer wins. If they can’t pay us back, our model doesn’t work either.”

The Big Ideas

BNPL’s Growth Potential in the US – With only 2% of payments currently in BNPL, there is significant room for expansion compared to markets like Europe and Australia.

Financial Inclusion for Underserved Consumers – Zip is focusing on consumers who don’t fit traditional credit models but have strong repayment potential. “We provide access when and where they need it,” says Heck.

Strategic Partnerships Drive Accessibility – Integrations with Stripe and retailers like GameStop are making BNPL more available to consumers.

A More Transparent Alternative to Credit Cards – Unlike credit cards that encourage revolving debt, BNPL provides structured, predictable payments. “We’re not built in a way that traps consumers in debt,” Heck emphasizes.

The Role of Cash Flow Management in BNPL’s Future – Zip is investing in tools that help consumers manage unpredictable income streams, ensuring more repayment flexibility.

Zip CEO Joe Heck: Expanding financial inclusion through Buy Now, Pay Later innovation

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Zack Miller.

SMBs have taken it on the chin during this crisis.

Nicole Jass, senior vice president of small business and fraud products at FIS joins us to discuss how small business needs have changed and how FIS has responded with product and an evolving product roadmap. The payments technology firm has rolled out upgrades and new products for customers in the past couple of months and Nicole checks in to describe how they’re using them.

Nicole Jass is my guest today on the Tearsheet Podcast.

FIS' Nicole Jass on helping SMBs with new products during this crisis

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Zack Miller.

Artificial intelligence in finance has long been overhyped, but AI is making an impact in lending decisions. Online lender Upstart exemplifies how the set of technologies can expand lenders’ inclusiveness without necessarily taking on any more risk.

Paul Gu, a co-founder at Upstart, joins us on the podcast to talk about his firm’s new AI-powered credit decisioning API that’s letting banks and other lenders deliver instant credit decisions for auto, personal, and student loans. We discuss Upstart’s performance during COVID as well.

Paul Gu is my guest today on the Tearsheet Podcast

Upstart's Paul Gu: 'AI is a mindboggling change in the economics of lending'

Welcome to Tearsheet’s Outlier Briefing. This subscriber-only content is exclusive for our Outlier members. We go deeper with subject matter experts, to take actionable steps that can impact your business and practice.

Rina Plapler has been working in brand strategy for over 20 years. That means she’s worked with many of today’s top financial brands with market positioning, messaging, and their product portfolios. As a partner at MBLM, she was instrumental in creating her firm’s research on brand intimacy — the emotional science that measures the bonds we form with the brands we use and love. She’s applied this research to the financial industry in an effort to rank the companies and characteristics that make for today’s strongest brands.

Rina joins to discuss what makes up brand intimacy and how emotional people feel around financial services. We look at her rankings and the attributes of today’s strongest financial brands. Lastly, she provides advice to companies to make themselves into more intimate brands.

To hear the full audio and to access all of our exclusive, member-only material, head on over to Tearsheet.co/outlier

Outlier Briefing: MBLM's Rina Plapler on improving brand intimacy in financial services

Welcome to the Tearsheet Podcast. I’m Zack Miller.

Student lending is undergoing a significant transformation. Earnest 

Earnest has refinanced over $10 billion for over 124,000 people, helping them pay off their debt and giving them the financial capital to reach their goals.

The company combines design and data to build an innovative model for consumer lending, available through a simple, easy to use mobile application. David Green, chief product officer at Earnest, joins us on the podcast to talk about lending in our economic environment, as well as the firm’s relatively new product, in-school student loans. Lastly, we talk about the lender’s product pipeline.

David Green is my guest today on the Tearsheet Podcast.

Earnest's David Green on student lending in the current economic environment

A few weeks back, payments API firm, Galileo launched Instant, which dramatically simplifies and accelerates launching a debit card — taking what can be a multi-month process and turning it into a couple of weeks. Galileo claims it had hundreds of companies signed up for a beta when it went live and the interest is still very strong. Founder and CEO Clay Wilkes talked about Instant when he addressed Tearsheet’s Resilience Conference a couple of weeks ago. 

Galileo Managing Director Cole Wilkes joins us on the podcast today to talk more about Instant.

Galileo's Clay Wilkes on launching Galileo Instant

Tearsheet is news, opinion, and analysis on the business of finance.

Candid conversations with senior executives, fintech entrepreneurs, investors, industry experts -- all weigh in on the trends impacting the industry and the disruptive impact technology is having on the business.

Where social media, technology and finance intersect.